SHERIDAN, WYOMING - March 24, 2026 - The Internationale Aktionswaren- und Importmesse (IAW) marks its 40th edition today as it opens in Cologne, bringing together 300 exhibitors and more than 5,000 expected visitors across Halls 6 and 9 at the Koelnmesse from March 24 to 26. The anniversary event spans 30,000 square meters and covers product categories ranging from garden articles, toys, and electronics to drugstore goods, food products, and e-commerce services. Alongside the exhibition floor, the IAW features its established E-Commerce Arena stage program and a redesigned hall layout, with extended opening hours on the final day for the first time.
A Milestone Edition Against a Shifting Retail Landscape
The 40th IAW arrives at a point of recalibration for the German retail sector. Organizers note that recent years have posed particular difficulties for brick-and-mortar retail, with declining consumer confidence and reduced spending weighing on city-center trade. Wholesale operators have also contended with economic uncertainty. Against this backdrop, e-commerce continues to grow consistently in both volume and revenue. The IAW positions itself as an established meeting point for the broader trade industry during this transitional period, offering a venue for business development, professional exchange, and strategic reorientation across both physical and digital retail channels.
Diverse Exhibitor Base Spans Longtime Participants and Over 40 Newcomers
The exhibition floor reflects both continuity and renewal. OSMA-Werm GmbH, present since the first IAW edition, returns with its seasonal and trend-driven range of personal care, household cleaning products, and private-label goods. Dutch overstock specialist WeStocklots brings its e-commerce-driven B2B wholesale model to the fair, offering high-quality surplus inventory to resellers. More than 40 first-time exhibitors join the program, including Italian textile company Giorgino Company, which produces and markets its own clothing brand alongside private-label products. Dutch wholesaler XMBO Trading, which supplies branded residual stock and clearance goods at discounts between 75 and 98 percent, also debuts at the fair, as does Goods by Goedegebuure, a family-run business from the Netherlands specializing in artificial flowers, plants, and home accessories with a focus on sustainable market development.
E-Commerce Arena Delivers Actionable Knowledge Across Three Days
The E-Commerce Arena, a fixed component of every IAW edition, anchors the e-commerce quarter and provides trade visitors with specialist presentations, practical tips, and panel discussions across all three fair days. Organizer Michael Frontzek, co-founder of MiToU GmbH, emphasized the deliberate breadth of the programming, designed to ensure relevance across the diverse merchant profiles attending the fair. The Arena's value proposition is its direct connection to the exhibition floor - visitors can identify products at exhibitor stands and immediately acquire the digital marketing and sales knowledge needed to bring those products to market online.
LinkedIn Acquisition and Marketplace Strategy on the Stage Program
Featured speakers address a range of channels and growth strategies. Entrepreneur and LinkedIn specialist Daniele Marino will present a session on turning LinkedIn profiles into systematic customer acquisition tools, sharing what he describes as his proprietary acquisition framework for the first time. In a market environment where advertising costs are rising and AI is making products easier to replicate, Marino argues that personal branding and authority-building on professional networks are becoming critical differentiators for B2B sellers. Ingrid Lommer, co-founder of Marketplace Universe, will deliver a data-driven presentation on why online marketplaces are an essential sales channel, particularly for international expansion, and which platforms are most relevant by product category and European market.
ERP and Automation Solutions Anchor the E-Commerce Quarter
The stage program is surrounded by the e-commerce quarter, where leading online retail service providers and system integrators exhibit their solutions. Among them, 4SELLERS presents its ERP platform featuring deep B2B functionality, integrated commerce modules, and copilot-driven automation. The company positions its offering around faster processes, lower costs, and scalability from a single system. For merchants evaluating operational infrastructure for multichannel or marketplace-based selling, the quarter provides a concentrated overview of available technology partners and integration options.
New Layout and Extended Hours for the Anniversary Edition
Practical changes accompany the 40th edition. The fair introduces a new hall configuration designed to improve visitor orientation, and for the first time extends opening hours to 15:00 on the final day. The exhibitor directory with company profiles and selected fair deals is already available online, with the full E-Commerce Arena program also published on the IAW website. Trade visitors can register free of charge.